The Midnight Leave: What It Means to Be Human

Demkil’s Order of Slayers comprised of ten squads, nine since the fall of the Fifth, with usually twenty to fifty knights in each squad, only a handful of which actually ranked Slayers. The Slayers of each squad always took the top seats, including the positions of Captain and Vice-captain. Before one can be ranked a Slayer, one is required to serve Demkil as a knight for a minimum of five years, or else provided a major contribution in some way to Demkil’s efforts against the Supernatural within the said timeframe.

Of course, to be knighted, one must have served a knight as a squire for at least a year; the timeframe was also five years minimum previously, but due to the high mortality rate and the urgent need to refill ranks, it was shortened to a single full year. Even after serving for six or more years, one is expected to provide outstanding results throughout their years of service. However, all of the aforementioned requirements could be bypassed if the King ordered it so.

“Now that everyone is here, let’s begin the meeting.”

The Head Captain of the Slayers addressed all sixty-four of the Slayers gathered before the King and himself in the monochrome throne hall. It was one of their monthly assemblies, one of only very few routines from the First Generation of Slayers that were still practiced. Although, what was once a monthly convention for the Slayers to appreciate each other’s efforts, and to celebrate the fact that they were still living after so many encounters with the Supernatural, became a dreary ritual of listening to new orders from the King.

All of the Slayers in attendance held their helmets under their arms and stood at attention with blank and straight faces. Their faces not only displayed the diversity among the warriors, but they also made it clear that they were expecting dissatisfactory news while trying their best not to express it. Waldhart was the same, with the inclusion of stress wrinkles upon his nearly pale skin across the forehead, which anyone could notice. The Second Captain, Rubia Demkil, narrowed her amber eyes as she practically glared at him. His dark blue eyes caught hers, and he scratched his short dirty blonde hair before taking a deep breath.

“So, the first order of business is to acknowledge our recent losses. We lost the entirety of the Fifth Squad, as well as three from the Third. We will need to redistribute our forces between the existing Squads in order to reform the Fifth before refilling our ranks. We’ll also need to decide who among our ranks will be promoted to Captain and Vice-captain of the Fifth after its reformation. Our King has decided that members among the First, Second, Third, and Fourth will be selected for redistribution, while the others will remain as they are for now. Any questions so far?”

There was no response, as the hall went completely silent… Until someone in the back cleared their throat after a single cough, but it returned to silence afterwards.

“Okay then, moving on…”

The first few topics were met with that same silence; it was only the last two that got any reactions from the Slayers. Waldhart took another deep breath before forcing himself to continue, already anticipating the backlash.

“Next, I shall now introduce to you all the most recent addition to the Order. Axis Demkil, step forward.”

Of course, there was already chatter among the Slayers just from the name. They all knew the truth, or at least what they believed to be so: Axis Demkil was possessed by Nexus before he was even born. It was a conclusion that was only shared by a few at first, earning far more credence after the Queen’s death over a year prior. The name was considered forsaken, never to be used to address the Cursed Child again. Yet, the name was being used to address the new Slayer, and a disrespectful one at that, as he was the only one still wearing his helmet, his dark eyes barely visible through the visor.

“Axis Demkil,” the Head Captain continued, blatantly ignoring the commotion, “we welcome you as the sixty-sixth Slayer of Demkil’s Order. Now, kneel before our King.”

Just after the Slayer gently fell to one knee, and the King slowly rose from his throne to his feet, one of the other Slayers called out in protest.

“Alright, no one else is going to say it, so I will! What the fuck?!”

“Watch your tongue while you stand within His Majesty’s Hall!” The Head Captain reprimanded the unruly Slayer.

“Allow him to speak freely, Waldhart,” King Demetrius instructed, seeming more amused than offput by the sudden outburst as he turned towards its cause. “Go on, Ninth Captain Gideo, share your thoughts.”

Gideo stepped forward, though because he stood taller than anyone else in the room, it wasn’t difficult to tell him apart from the rest. He was a mountain of a Slayer, more muscle than otherwise for sure, and the choice of a war hammer over twice his own size as his primary weapon attested to his outrageous strength. With the sides of his head completely shaven, his dark brown hair only existed atop his head and upon his chin. His eyes, matching the color of his hair, glared at the new Slayer as he assessed him before he continued with his complaint.

“It’s bad enough that the first Spellcaster Unit went to the First Squad, but now this knight that we barely know is being welcomed into the Order as a Slayer? How long has he been a knight, and when exactly was he knighted to begin with? Who did he accompany as a squire? Why am I the only one asking these questions?!”

His words sparked the unrest among the other Slayers, causing the commotion to increase in volume.

“Yeah, the bastard won’t even show his face! What’s up with that?!”

“Also, did you hear the name that the Head Captain called him by? I mean, what the fuck?”

“Exactly what the Ninth Captain said!”

“And let me guess,” Gideo continued, and the others hushed to let him speak, “I bet this sixty-sixth Slayer is joining the First Squad too, right?! I thought any with the rank of Slayer would be treated as if they were the highest class of nobility, second only to those with the royal name! In spite of this, there are clear signs of favoritism here!”

The Slayers’ uproar reached a crescendo, expressing the shared sentiment.

“That’s enough!” Waldhart called out, and the hall was silenced yet again. “We’ve had this discussion before. There is no favoritism amongst the Slayers, as these decisions were made directly by the King. There is not a single decision that His Majesty has made without considerable forethought.”

“Don’t give me that, Head Captain!” Gideo continued to argue. “I’m not just talking about amongst the Slayers either, there’s favoritism throughout the entire kingdom! For example, when the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Squads delivered Nexus to Swinger’s estate, I heard that the Slayers were treated just like his servants, just because of his family’s ties to the Third King, isn’t that right?!”

While Waldhart was still wincing from Gideo’s emphasis on Nexus’s name, the Ninth Captain turned to Vice-captain Ketsu of the Third Squad, who was trying to stay out of the clamor. The young man of Eastern descent suddenly noticed everyone’s attention on him and tried to stammer out a response.

“H-huh?! U-um… I mean…”

Third Captain Mestard liberated Ketsu by stepping up to answer Gideo in his stead, while he sighed in relief. Of course, the Third Captain had his own complaints, specifically regarding the mysterious new addition to the Order. The dark-skinned man with a low-faded haircut and a light scar across his left eye glanced disappointingly at Ketsu, before directing his dark hazel eyes to Gideo as he nodded in his direction, then to the Head Captain and the King.

“It’s true, Swinger didn’t treat us as he would treat any other Nobles. If the First or Second Squad were there at the time, he may have acted differently. That said, I believe the bigger issue is this new Slayer. Based on the name you used to address him, our questions should be obvious already, but even beyond that, shouldn’t his actions during the search for Nexus count against him? How is he deserving of the rank of Slayer, especially when he has not fought alongside us even once, that instance included? Please, Head Captain, Your Majesty, we deserve some explanation, don’t we?”

All eyes were back on the Head Captain, who turned to King Demetrius, whose eyes remained focused on “Axis,” who was still kneeling before him. The King drew his sword, and gently placed the flat end of the blade on each of the kneeling Slayer’s shoulders. The commotion began to rise in volume again as it seemed as if the King was ignoring them, but after going through those motions, his eyes rose up to meet the protesting Slayers, before raising a hand to silence them so he could speak to them.

“My Slayers, I can understand why these recent changes have disturbed you, but even so, you must accept them. The sixty-sixth Slayer of the Order is this young man, Axis Demkil, who I have taken in as my adopted son. That is why I have given him the name. He has lost all memory of his life before I met him, but he has definitely lived as a warrior that fights Monsters, and some of you here have even witnessed his might for yourselves. His power alone makes him qualified for the rank of Slayer, and his earlier mistakes may be forgiven.”

Needless to say, a vast majority of the Slayers were not satisfied, but the King had spoken, and arguing any further would be a sign of disobedience, which would warrant demotions that none of them could afford. Then, the King focused on Gideo specifically.

“As for the claims of favoritism, we simply cannot control the feelings and thoughts of others. If you feel as if you’re not receiving as much respect as others, then compare your own actions and behavior to theirs. Members of the First and Second Squads are usually the most dignified, while the others have members that show off, slack off, or constantly produce lackluster results. You all are high-class Nobles as long as you retain your ranks, but the respect you believe you deserve must still be earned. As for the Spellcasters, once there’s an increase in their numbers, there will be a unit in each squad. Now, are there any further complaints? Any more questions? No?”

The Slayers remained silent, but their faces freely expressed their dissatisfaction, unlike before. Waldhart once again glanced towards Rubia, who was surprisingly silent throughout the entire meeting, in spite of her obvious glares towards her father indicating her grievances. He knew he would be hearing an earful from her later, however, and sighed as he foresaw such an inevitable fate.

Meanwhile, the King of Slayers returned his sword to his sheath while closing the meeting.

“Then this assembly is concluded. You are all dismissed.”